I had 30 minutes to burn before the Written in the Sand author fair event commenced at Beach Books in Seaside. So why not help animals?

That’s always a great notion.

Thus, I made my way inside the Spay and Neuter Thrift Shop in Seaside. The shop overlooks a particularly inviting stretch of the Neacanicum River and reminds visitors that Seaside is very much a languid river town as well as a lively beach town. All proceeds from sales at the store are earmarked to help combat the persistent problem of unwanted litters of dogs and cats.

I walked inside hoping to score some new item of corduroy clothing. No proper bohemian writer or handyman should ever be without enough corduroy during fall on the Oregon Coast. I consider it the official fabric of the season.

The shop’s interior impressed me. This is easily the most smartly organized thrift store in Clatsop County. The merchandise is clean, immaculately shelved, hung and labeled. Prices were incredibly cheap too, unlike the big box thrift store retailers.

All that is good and well, but true thrift store connoisseurs always remember an establishment for its unique finds.

The Spay and Neuter Thrift Shop has them for sure, starting with Hush Puppie golf shoes and a basketful of crocheted hangers that presumably took a very determined person a lifetime to knit. For me, the great discovery was seeing that someone had dumped their entire Woody Allen movie collection on VHS. I snapped up the underrated “Stardust Memories” and went to the counter. The event was starting in a few minutes and I had to leave.

The clerk didn’t know right off how much the tape cost. I plunked down a dollar and said, “Is this enough?”

“Sure, why not,” the man said.

The Spay and Neuter Thrift Shop is located at 600 Broadway in Seaside. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays (summer only), closed Wednesdays.